Tag Archives: Mexico energy reform

Mexico’s oil and natural gas fields are so near but yet so far from the United States, where the hydraulic fracturing (fracking) and horizontal drilling revolution have turned it into a global behemoth. Now Mexico stands poised as an unconventional threat as well.

The Eagle Ford Shale in South Texas, in the cradle of the unconventional fields, extends into the Mexican state of Tamaulipas. But while the small companies that were the guerrilla fighters of the revolution continue to buzz the formation in Texas with drilling activity, the Tamaulipas side is eerily silent.Mexico’s state oil company Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) drilled about 20 wells a few years ago, but without apparently being unable to master the fracking/horizontal drilling technology.

This time round, with the instruments of the 2013-14 energy reform under their belt, the Mexican energy authorities have announced the nation’s first upstream auction of unconventional resources in the wake of a government-sponsored forum in the border city of Reynosa, Tamaulipas.

BP is stepping on the gas in Mexico.On March 9, the British oil major plans to open its first filling station in Mexico City.The company — which won two deep-water exploration blocks last December in a tender in which it partnered with Statoil of Norway and Total of France — says it will grow its petrol station network organically, but a spokesman had no more details ahead of the official launch, writes Jude Webber in Mexico City.Mexico’s energy sector was closed to competition for nearly eight decades, with state-owned Pemex the only player in hydrocarbon exploration and production, as well as filling stations. The company’s green, white and red eagle logo is a fixture on filling stations nationwide.

The 2nd Mexico Infrastructure Projects Forum (www.mexicoinfrastructure.com) is a two-day infrastructure event that will take place in Monterrey, México on January 18 and 19, 2017. Organized by Industry Exchange, the event will focus on Mexico´s most crucial infrastructure, clean energy, hydrocarbons and transportation industry investment opportunities and will bring together high-level industry executives from the private and public sector, multi-lateral development banks, and project sponsors from Mexico, the United States, Canada and Europe. Register before November 30 for the 2nd Mexico Infrastructure Projects Forum in Monterrey and save U$400.

Mexico’s energy reform is expected to help turn around the country’s declining production. The end of PEMEX’s monopoly in Mexico’s energy sector will allow foreign direct investment that should revitalize the oil and gas industry and begin to increase oil production within the next three to four years.

After years of delay, Mexico could open up its vast shale oil fields to U.S. drillers as soon as next year, the Mexican secretary of energy said Friday. Pedro Joaquin Coldwell, speaking to energy executives, attorneys and academics at Rice University, said that the long-suspended auctions for northern Mexico’s shale fields could reopen after the first quarter of 2017. “Everything will be ready by March,” he said. The fields could provide Houston oil companies with nearby and ready-made opportunities for expansion. Much of it is essentially an extension of the Eagle Ford reservoir, which stretches from central Texas and into Mexico. Local companies, familiar with the geology and now experts in hydraulic fracturing, could be first in line to develop the fields. Mexico, in the middle of sweeping energy reform, is holding auctions to sell the rights for private companies to drill in its untapped oil fields. The country has gathered more than $22 billion in private sector commitments so far, on projects ranging from oil drilling to pipelines to power plants.

Mexico, Sep 21 (Prensa Latina) Mexico is now second world importer of gasoline, only preceded by the United States, it was informed here.According to daily La Jornada, it is expected that Mexican imports keep on increasing duer to the limited domestic refining capacity and the commercial opening of that fuel.In 2015, the foreign imports of gasoline totaled 13 billion 410 million dollars.The Mexican energy reform says that in 2017, free import of gasolines and diesel is to be allowed and in 2018 the prices of those fuels will be liberated, eliminating present price bands.Mexico imported 12 billion 694 million liters in the first half of 2016, for four billion 938 million dollars, according to data of the Secretary of Economy.Of the total of its domestic consumption of gasoline, the country imports almost 45 percent and faces the need to improve existing refineries to meet environmental norms and expand the offer. The third largest importer of gasoline was Singapur with 12 billion 757 million dollars, followed by South Korea (11 billion 730 million).

Pedro Joaquín Coldwell, Mexico’s secretary of energy since 2012, will be Friday’s keynote speaker at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy forum.

Coldwell will speak about energy reform in Mexico during the forum. The conference is titled “Mexico’s Energy Reform: Opportunities in All Directions.” Baker Institute’s Mexico Center and corporate law firm Haynes and Boon are hosting the event.

Law360, New York (May 27, 2016, 7:02 PM ET) — The landmark legislative reforms that opened up Mexico’s energy sector after 75 years of state control have largely been implemented, with the Mexican government holding auctions for onshore and offshore oil and gas exploration, as well as new electricity projects. Energy companies and investors are flocking to the country, hoping to grab a piece of the emerging energy pie, but attorneys say they must be mindful that they’re still venturing into uncharted territory. That means adjusting to increased government involvement in potential operations compared to other countries, as well as a more complicated and expensive process to secure land or rights-of-way for projects.“In many regulatory reform processes, there will always be a learning curve,” said Benjamin Torres-Barron, who leads Baker & McKenzie’s energy, mining and infrastructure practice group in Mexico. “The learning curve doesn’t just affect investors — it affects the regulators. There’s a huge amount of legal content that has been released and designed.”Here, attorneys offer five pieces of advice for energy companies looking to do business in Mexico as reforms continue to be implemented.